paper

Design

Paper Shredder Reinvented In Sculpture-Like Paper2Dust Concept

Posted by Kit Eaton at 8:34 PM on November 10, 2008

Paper shredders are usually simple and utilitarian-designed boring boxes, which may be why Bluelarix Designworks went to town on this reimagining of the machine. Paper2Dust is bizarrely sculptural, and works by having a "fast turning cord" spinning inside the top that literally rips the paper you slide into it into dust. The glass lid of the machine lets you see how pulped the paper's getting—when you're satisfied you simply release the power button, and the dustified paper slips down into the machine's leg. There's the usual safety features of course, but if it ever made it into a real product I think its selling power would be the therapeutic value of seeing hated paperwork being vaporised. [Yanko Design]


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Gadgets

Mcor Matrix 3D Printer Replicates Objects on the Cheap With Simple Paper and Glue

Posted by John Mahoney at 12:40 AM on November 8, 2008

3D printers are awesome. Feed them a computer model, and out comes a real object--often with complexity that is impossible to conjure into reality via any other means. Still blows my mind nearly every time I see one in action. Especially cool, then, is the Mcor Matrix, a 3D Printer that aims to keep cost of ownership at a minimum by using as its elementals regular office paper and a common water-based glue. This hand model, for instance, was produced for only €3.70 ($US4.73).


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Weapons

Paper Tank Only Fires Cheap Furniture, Supermarket Coupons

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 4:30 AM on October 11, 2008

Being the blind bat that I am, I first got excited when I saw this M1 Abrams tank made out of paper because I thought those were comic-book pages. Is that Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos? Maybe coloured Milton Canniff's Steve Canyons? Doug Murray's 'Nam? Then I zoomed in and I realised what it was.


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Science

Origami Space Shuttles Unveiled, Kids Around the World Hold Their Breath

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 10:00 PM on October 9, 2008

This has to be the dream of every kid and adult on Earth: Make a paper plane and throw it from orbit. Well, there's one lucky Japanese astronaut who is going to get nine of them, a paper space shuttle fleet which will go up to the International Space Station. Then, they will be dropped from orbit into a 400km, two-day flight to the ground. If you are thinking that these origami spacecrafts won't be able to resist the re-entry, think again: They can sustain Mach 7 speeds (8,500kph) and 200-degree Celsius temperatures.


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Gadgets

The Anatomy of the Office Prank

Posted by Mark Wilson at 1:40 AM on October 1, 2008

The casual office employee stalks his coworker with the intensity of a lion hunting a wildebeest on the African savanna. Never rushed, always contemplated, the average office prank is executed with all the razor precision found in a well-pressed shirt.

In part one of our examination of the office prank, we study the first of many techniques office workers use to triumph over co-adversaries. To those with soft stomachs, the gruesome techniques used to humiliate one's peers with cardboard might be better left unseen.


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Random Stuff

Netflix Origami Folds Out the Trash

Posted by Mark Wilson at 7:20 AM on September 12, 2008

Even with Netflix's reusable mailers, the little torn-off panels begin to add up. Of course, you could just throw these away. Or if you're a bit more pretentious about it, you could recycle them and tell the whole block what a fantastic recycler you are—after all, some people just throw these things away. Or, if you're really great—and by "great" I mean freaky-obsessive compulsive—you'll fold these scraps into origami. Full instructions await those who are finished tweezing microscopic shreds of red paper from their rug while patting their heads and singing The Wheels on the Bus. [NetFlix Origami]


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Random Stuff

Slim Chips: A Zero Calorie Snack Made From Tasty Paper

Posted by Sean Fallon at 5:20 AM on September 11, 2008

Like the infamous Canburger before it, this snack food seems totally unnatural. I mean, chips made from "edible" paper? The creators claim that it is a zero calorie alternative to regular chips that offers a dining experience akin to "eating tasty air." First of all, what kind of paper is it? Rice paper has calories, so that should be ruled out. Does A4 have calories? Did anyone bust out a calorimeter? Will eating this stuff result in death or Olestra-esque "anal leakage?" All good questions, but it probably won't matter unless Slim Chips actually make it to the grocery store. [Slim Chips via Book of Joe via Boing Boing Gadgets]


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Weapons

Hit Coworkers From Afar and Burn the Evidence With DIY Paper Rocket Kit

Posted by Jack Loftus at 5:00 AM on August 18, 2008

USB rocket launchers are expensive and overrated, in my opinion. I say give me Luddite papercraft rocket launchers or give me death. So you'll excuse me when I say I downloaded the template for this DIY paper rocket launcher [PDF] from German design site Paper Puzzle Parade and made a small army this morning. The site says if you do "good work" the rocket should reach heights of about 4.5 metres! I sense a Cold War with my USB-armed office brethren brewing. [Paper Puzzle Parade via MAKE]


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Gadgets

Pedal-Powered Toilet-Paper-Wiper Brings Both Laziness and Exercise to the Bathroom

Posted by Adam Frucci at 1:00 AM on August 6, 2008

Well, here's something you don't expect to see in the listing for a house on a real estate website: a toilet equipped with a pedal-powered contraption that drags toilet paper across your filthy bits, allowing you to wipe hands free. And, one assumes, leaving a train of vile used TP behind your toilet.


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Entertainment

Brendan Koerner Teaches Stephen Colbert About CFLs and the Environment

Posted by Benny Goldman at 9:00 AM on August 2, 2008

Friend of Giz and contributing editor Brendan I. Koerner was on the Colbert Report last night to school Stephen on ways to save the environment. Koerner discussed the paper/plastic debate, using air conditioning vs. windows, and whether it's cheaper to buy CFLs or regular bulbs. Colbert let the green-concious Koerner off pretty easy, but he did manage to raise a fascinating point: If CFLs weren't meant to be licked, why do they look so damn delicious? [The Colbert Report, Brendan Koerner]


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